Fifteen Years
by Ryoshu Kin
Summary: From the moment he met the enigmatic blond, Matt knew that he'd give his life for Mello... Their fifteen years together.


Fifteen Years

This piece of the "Fifteen" web is about Matt and his dedication to Mello.

From the moment he met the enigmatic blond, Matt knew that he'd give his life for Mello... Their fifteen years together.

I don't own Death Note.

The number in (parentheses) before each section is Matt's age, just to clarify things.

Tires screamed as Matt took the corner too fast. He spared a glance back and cursed. The Kira worshippers were catching up.

In some small part of his mind, from the moment he met the enigmatic blond, Matt knew that he'd give his life for Mello. He hadn't known then how it would happen, he just knew it would.

They met fifteen years ago, almost to the day...

(Five) Five year old Matt yelped in pain as the older boy stomped on his fragile torso. "Stop it! Please, you're hurting me..."

The big, dark-haired boy sneered down at him. "You're fresh meat here. I can do whatever I want to you. Anyone want to say different?"

"I say you can't." The laughing crowed went silent and parted like the red sea to reveal the speaker. The blond was smaller than him, and almost pretty enough to be a girl.

"Mello." The boy spat it like a curse. He seemed afraid.

"Hello, Frankie. What did I tell you about playing nice?" Mello walked forward with slow, deliberate steps; sparks flashed in his fierce eyes.

"You little son of a bitch." That did it. 'Frankie' should have never insulted an orphan's mother.

By the time Mello was finished with Frank, Matt understood why the big boy was afraid. The little blond left the older boy broken and bleeding in the dirt, crying for mercy.

"Are you okay?" He held out one graceful hand and helped Matt to stand up.

(Six) Mello taught him how to be strong, held him when he cried, and sheltered him from the storm, so when Mello was outnumbered six to one in a fight the next year, Matt stepped in. The fight ended with them sporting matching black eyes and grinning like maniacs. They were a dream team.

It was then that Mello gave him the goggles; to hide the bruise.

(Seven) Their third year together, Near came into their life.

It was so close to Christmas and Mello tried to ease Near's transition into life at Wammy's with a present. His version of a welcome. Mello had a way of finding people as brilliant and as messed up as he was; Matt included.

Near just watched him with quiet expectation, his gaze saying, "I've accepted your gift, are you going to hurt me now?"

It must have killed something in Mello when those eyes were turned on him.

Matt realized now that maybe something had hurt Near bad enough to make him that way.

(Eight) Year four was different, Mello was different. Something about Near brought out the worst in him.

"Matt, I swear I'm going to make that albino brat show some emotion if it kills me!"

Looking back, it was almost morbidly funny. Mello tormented Near, but he never did get any emotion out of him- unless one counted the single, thwarted kiss Near gave him, their only kiss ended with a hard slap and a bloody lip. Ironic that Mello probably _would_ die to have Near's love. That was what Mello always wanted, Near's love, Matt accepted that, because he wanted it a little, too.

(Nine) Their fifth year together, Mello gave Matt his first kiss.

They were sitting together in companionable silence, Matt with his Gameboy and Mello with a battered, leather-bound copy of the Iliad- yes, the fascination with leather went back that far- And out of the blue Mello looked up, spearing him with sharp eyes. "Matt, would you go to war for me?"

"Of coarse, Mello."

"Would you die for me?" Mello looked so soft, so beautiful, and Matt was too young to really care about the implications.

"I'd do anything for you."

"Would you die?" Mello was really insistent.

"Any time, Mello. Just tell me when."

Mello's lips were really warm and soft and they tasted like chocolate, bittersweet just like the boy they belonged to, and then Mello pulled away whispered "Thank you." in a sigh against his lips.

(Ten) They didn't talk about it again until the Valentine's day of their sixth year.

"Matt, do you think I'm pretty?" Again, Mello caught him off guard with his crazy, off the wall questions.

"Of coarse you're pretty, Mello." Matt answered. It had actually surprised him how much prettier the blond had become in just one year.

"Prettier than a girl?"

"Mello, you aren't a girl." Matt huffed, frustrated.

The blond's face fell, "If I was a girl, would you like me?"

"Mello, I like you now. Hence the spending of my every waking moment with you." Matt started to turn back to his game.

"I mean, would you date me, if I was a girl?" Mello glared at him, also frustrated, and Matt wanted to play with him a little.

"No." Matt answered him, willing his voice to be even.

As predicted, Mello got mad. "Why?"

"I don't like girls, Mello."

"Oh," He watched as it sank in, "Oh!" and suddenly Mello was in his arms, kissing him again. "Be my boyfriend?"

"Anything you want, Mello." And he nuzzled that pale cheek softly, "Anything for you."

(Eleven) He was Mello's partner in crime, Matt could accept that, even when they got caught year seven.

"Matt, let's go for a joy ride." Mello's grin was radiant as he held up the keys to Martha the nurse's new sports car.

"Mello, we aren't stealing a car."

"We wouldn't be stealing it, we'd just be borrowing it without permission. Besides, you said you'd do anything for me." Mello demonstrated just how warped his sense of right and wrong was.

"Okay, Mello." Matt finally conceded.

The two of them were just slipping out the door, when a nondescript black car pulled up and none other than L stepped out. "Matt, Mello, where are you going?"

L and Watari didn't tell anyone else about their little misadventure, but they had to return the keys, and they still got grounded for a month. It was probably a good thing Mello never got behind the wheel of the car, though.

(Twelve) By their eighth year, Matt had slipping out to meet Mello down to an art.

"Mello?" He called quietly into the dark yard.

"Over here, Matt." Mello's voice came from the direction of the pool, "Come swim with me."

As he approached the edge of the water, he noticed that the ground lights were on and turned down low. Mello broke the surface of the water and crossed his arms on the concrete directly in front of Matt, unabashedly naked. "C'mon in, the water's warm."

Matt took a small step back, his jeans were suddenly uncomfortably tight. "Mello, I don't have my swim trunks." All that pale, naked skin was beautiful and a little intimidating and it made his mouth go dry. "I should go, Mello... I think I left my... um, my game... on, I think."

"Matt, you're such a dork." That amused, affectionate voice came from lips he could remember kissing like a warm, soft dream. "Come swimming with me, I won't tease you if you get naked too."

"But Mello, I, uh, I..." Matt couldn't form words to express what Mello's naked skin was doing to him.

Mello's sharp eyes must have caught his problem, "Matt, is this the first time you've had an erection?"

Matt's face went redder than his hair. "Um..."

"Relax, Matt, it's natural. It happens to everyone." Mello's calm, reassuring voice finally managed to coax him out of his clothes and into the pool. "See, it happens to me, too."

(Thirteen) Nine years together hadn't really changed Matt's view of Mello- the blonde was still beautiful, strong, and frighteningly intelligent- so he was surprised at Mello's reaction when L's heirs were announced.

"Do you hate me now, Matt?" Mello was sprawled back across his bed, a chocolate bar hanging from his mouth as he tried to sound casual.

"Why would I hate you? You aren't having an affair with Near, are you?" Matt teased, pulling Mello's legs over his lap so he could sit down.

"Matt, I'm serious!" Mello protested, so Matt kissed him quiet.

"You're one of L's heirs, I'm behind you, so what?" Matt asked, nibbling on Mello's ear. "I don't want to be L, I want to be Matt... I'm too lazy to be the next L anyway. I'll help you, just like always. I'll always be right behind you, ready to catch you if you fall."

Mello smiled at him, "I love you, Matt."

"Love you, too, Mello."

(Fourteen) Ten years after Matt met Mello, Mello was called into Roger's office, and for the first time, neither boy knew why. The blonde came back looking drained, his eyes were red from crying and Matt knew something had gone horribly wrong. He didn't have to ask though, Mello beat him to it. "L's dead, Matt."

Matt could feel the tears sting his eyes, "God, Mello... no." He wasn't sure if he was mourning L or terrified that Mello would be next.

"Come here, Matt." Mello pulled him in and kissed him long and sweet. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"You're going to leave me behind." Matt knew he was right, especially when Mello turned away.

"Matt, I'm sorry... I promise I'll come back for you once Kira is dead."

"No, Mello. I've never disobeyed you before, but I swear to God I'll follow you if you leave me. I always want to be at your side, even if I have to die with you." Matt protested, squeezing Mello's wrist until it started to bruise.

Mello gave him a sharp nod. "Three am, my room, don't be late." They kissed again and Mello walked away slowly.

Matt walked in the opposite direction to pack up his life, and it was only then that he noticed Near watching them around the playroom door.

They stole a car for real the next morning, sold it to a street thug for plane tickets and a gun, and they were on their way to America, the land of opportunity.

(Fifteen) After eleven years together, trusting Mello came easy, even if it meant watching him pull the hug and stab on various high ranking Mafia members in order to work his way up the ranks to a position of power.

One night, as he laid on their bed, watching a particularly vicious hickey bloom on the pale skin of Mello's chest, he couldn't help asking, "How much do you let them do to you?"

Mello looked up from refastening his vest and met his eyes, "Bites, kisses, one even groped me once, but they all die in the end. I would never let them do what I let you do."

They kissed and Matt ran his palm down the laces of Mello's leather pants, gratified when Mello arched into his touch. "This is mine, Mello. No one else is allowed to touch you like this."

Mello's laugh was shaky at best, "Always, Matt."

(Sixteen) By the time they'd been together twelve years, Mello had managed to take over a branch of the Mafia. He probably could have been more patient and let his intelligence carry him to the top, but Matt had a feeling that the murders were a mix of personal vengeance on men who'd humiliated him and a demonstration of his cold practicality.

For a seventeen year old kid, Mello had cold practicality in droves, at least on the surface. It was when he cried at night over the person who didn't deserve to die, or the cops caught in the crossfire that Matt knew the real Mello was still with him.

(Seventeen) The thirteenth anniversary of their first meeting fell three days after Mello inherited the West Coast Mafia.

Mello's intelligence was key to such a huge event. The Boss had noticed the trend; Mello's branch never got caught. He wanted that kind of power behind him, so he invited Mello to his base of operations in Los Angeles.

Surprisingly enough, Mello actually took to the old man. The teasing use of the word "Grandpa" had a few closer bodyguards betting on how long Mello would live, but Matt knew better. He'd seen just how the old guy's face lit up when Mello smiled and joked with him. Once he'd even overheard the Boss call Mello "Son".

After the old guy retired, Mello kept a picture with the three of them on his desk. Matt was pretty sure that the Boss was the closest thing Mello had to a role model since L.

(Eighteen) Year fourteen was it's own kind of Hell. Mello sent Matt off on some stupid mission, he wanted him to spy on the SPK. That was about the point Lidner found him, and offered to help them, not that anyone really cares about her. She just had a thing for danger.

When Matt heard about the explosion, he trashed his "mission" and drove back faster than if Kira himself was on his tail. What he found was blood and death and the smell of burning flesh so thick on the air that he couldn't breathe. He found Mello in the rubble, under a chunk of roof that no one had bothered to move.

"Matt..." The blond held out a hand to him, smiled, and passed out in his arms. There was no blood, the burns had cauterized instantly.

It was only after Mello was safe that Matt realized he'd burned and bloodied his hands sifting through the rubble. They were never really the same, only the gloves kept them from being too sensitive, but Mello learned quickly that kissing Matt's palms had wonderful results.

(Nineteen) Last night, just shy of Matt's twentieth birthday, they made love one last time. Matt never realized that it could be so slow, so tender, but he understood why; they were holding on to each other. Neither of them wanted that moment to end, because they didn't want to say goodbye.

Afterwards, they curled together on the bed, "Mello..." Matt whispered.

The blond looked up at him, gave him the same smile he'd seen in the wreckage, and kissed him silent. "Hold onto me, until tomorrow, Matt. I love you forever."

Matt held onto the fragile life in his arms, and cried. "I love you, always."

"Fifteen years together..." Matt whispered as he wheeled his car around, trying in vain to escape the circle of vehicles surrounding him. "I kept my promise, Mello. I'll see you when this is all over..." And he stepped out of the car...


End file.
